US President Barack Obama has called for calm and a rejection of violence between Israelis and Palestinians in the wake of today’s Jerusalem synagogue attack.

“Tragically this is not the first loss of life that we have seen in recent months,” Mr Obama said.

“Too many Israelis have died, too may Palestinians have died and at this difficult time I think it’s important for Palestinians and Israelis to work together to lower tension and to reject violence,” he added.

A British-born rabbi was killed in the attack during morning prayers at a synagogue in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Avraham Goldberg, who was born in Liverpool, died alongside three Americans in the incident.

Police then shot dead two Palestinians, who entered the building with meat cleavers and other weapons.

Mr Goldberg died when two Palestinian men armed with meat cleavers and a gun stormed the Kehilot Yaakov synagogue on Tuesday morning.

A grandfather who was in his sixties, Mr Goldberg lived in Golders Green, north London, for many years before moving to Israel, according to the Jewish News.

The three other victims have been identified by the US State Department as Mosheh Twersky, Aryeh Kupinsky and Cary William Levine.

All four were Israeli immigrants who held dual nationality. Their funerals have already been held.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, speaking alongside US Secretary of State John Kerry, condemned the attack.

He said: "Both sides in this conflict need to do everything possible to de-escalate the situation and reduce the tension we've seen in Jerusalem over the past few weeks, which is extremely dangerous for both Palestinian and Jewish communities in that area."

The attack took place at around 7am local time at the synagogue in the ultra-Orthodox Har Nof neighbourhood, which has a large number of immigrants from Western countries.

Both attackers were shot dead by police at the scene. They have been named as cousins Ghassan and Oday Abu Jamal, from the Jabal Mukaber area in east Jerusalem.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine has claimed the two cousins were members, but it has not said if it had instructed them to carry out the attack.

Six people were injured during the attack, including two police officers. Four are said to be in a serious condition.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the attack on both Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

He said: "We will respond with a heavy hand to the brutal murder of Jews who came to pray and were killed by lowly murderers."

It was later reported he had ordered the homes of the attackers destroyed.

The attack comes amid increases tensions in Jerusalem, with a wave of attacks by Palestinians on Israelis killing at least six people in the last few weeks fuelled partly by a dispute over the city's holiest shrine.

Five Israelis and one foreigner have been killed in the last few weeks, with 12 Palestinians also being killed.

The violence erupted in July when a Palestinian teenager was burned to death, allegedly in revenge for the abduction and killing of three Jewish teenagers in the West Bank.

Mr Abbas has condemned the attack. In a statement, he said: "The Palestinian presidency has always condemned the killing of civilians on either side, and condemns today the killing of worshippers at a synagogue."

US President Barack Obama condemned the "horrific attack". In a statement, he said: "At this sensitive moment in Jerusalem, it is all the more important for Israeli and Palestinian leaders and ordinary citizens to work co-operatively together to lower tensions, reject violence and seek a path forward towards peace."

The attack is the worst in Jerusalem since 2008, when a gunman shot dead eight people in a religious seminary school.

Violence in Israel and the Palestinian Territories has risen dramatically over the past few weeks. Five Israelis and a foreign visitor have been deliberately run over and killed or stabbed to death by Palestinians.

About a dozen Palestinians have also been killed, including those accused of carrying out the attacks.

The violence was sparked in July when a Palestinian teenager was burned to death by Jewish assailants.

This was allegedly in revenge for the abduction and killing of three Jewish teenagers by Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank.

The summer war in Gaza and a row over access to a Jerusalem compound sacred to both Muslims and Jews have also increased tensions.

Last week Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Jordan's King Abdullah II held talks in an attempt to restore calm.

Israel and the Palestinians said afterwards they would take steps to curb the violence.